20 Rounds Part III: Yakovenko's Step-by-Step Strategy Guide for Pineapple OFC Poker
Open Face Chinese has become one of the most popular games in poker. Top pros like Jason Mercier, Barry Greenstein and Shaun Deeb have become unofficial ambassadors for the game, while dozens of other pros can be found playing the game either late into the night or on their tablets. One of those players is Nikolai Yakovenko, who helped create the ABC Open Face Chinese Poker iPhone app.
Yakovenko, also known as "Googles," is originally from Moscow, Russia and is now a poker player and software developer that resides in Brooklyn, New York. After several years at Google New York working on ranking algorithms, he's been developing independent software projects ever since while making both World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour final tables. Here Yakovenko, who has $313,598 in WSOP earnings, walks you through 20 rounds of Pineapple OFC (which he actually played) and offers strategy and his thought processes throughout. This is the third in a series of articles that will run every Tuesday and Thursday on PokerNews
To catch up on the action, and to learn how these articles are formatted, check out the first two pieces in the series:
For more on Yakovenko, check out the recent in-depth interview he did with PokerNews.
Match Restart. Up +1100 after 640 rounds
We left off our match on round #640 of many. After six round and two Fantasylands, we were up +35 points. Without further discourse, back to battle stations. It’s Pineapple OFC time.
Round 641 (first to act) – Forking Early
By now, it should be clear how we play a starting hand with a king and a queen.
This one’s extra simple, since we also have a pair, and nothing else in the hand to tempt us, like a three-card straight flush.
1. Q♣/K♠/5♥5♣10♥
After our digital friend opts to go for straight/straight, we’ve got a bit of a decision.
1. Q♣/K♠/5♥5♣10♥, /4♦6♥3♥/8♠9♦
2. Q♣/K♠/5♥5♣10♥/2♦4♥2♣
There’s no sound math behind this play, at least not yet, but I always go for bottom two pair in this spot.
What’s the alternative? I could play deuce-deuce for a pair in the middle.
All of my cards are super live, but that also means I’m just as likely to catch king-queen, as I am to get a ten and a five for a full house on the bottom. The first few times I made it, this play seemed weird, since I’m giving up on a 100% live full house, and I can’t get any bonus after this play, except for the top-pair bonus.
But the top pair bonus is where the value in OFC lies. A full house on the bottom is worth +6. Queens on the top is worth +7, plus Fantasyland (a +10 to +13 value, depending on who you ask).
With a hand this live, I’d have gladly forgone the second bottom pair for a live ace in the middle. But given what we draw, it’s better to lock up a qualifying bottom, and start squeezing for face cards!
And of course, after all of those words about the relative unimportance of bottom and middle bonuses, look what we could have had!
1. Q♣/K♠/5♥5♣10♥, /4♦6♥3♥/8♠9♦
2. Q♣/K♠/5♥5♣10♥(2♦2♣)/4♥, (A♥)/4♦6♥3♥/8♠9♦(9♥)/[?]
3. Q♣/K♠/5♥5♣10♥2♦2♣/5♠2♠4♣,
Played differently, we could have had trip deuces in the middle and trip fives on the bottom, with possibilities for both Fantasyland and quads.
As we played it, three low cards do nothing for us here. We throw the round away.
Meanwhile, the computer is backing into a decent hand, and is well on its way to having us scooped.
1. Q♣/K♠/5♥5♣10♥, /4♦6♥3♥/8♠9♦
2. Q♣/K♠/5♥5♣10♥(2♦2♣)/4♥, (A♥)/4♦6♥3♥/8♠9♦(9♥)/[?]
3. Q♣/K♠(4♣2♠)/5♥5♣10♥2♦2♣/5♠, A♥(K♥)/4♦6♥3♥(4♠)/8♠9♦9♥/[?]
4. Q♣/K♠4♣2♠/5♥5♣10♥2♦2♣/Q♥J♣7♠,
Since we don’t have much to lose, and we have the disadvantage of playing first, let’s force the issue by going for Fantasyland.
1. Q♣/K♠/5♥5♣10♥, /4♦6♥3♥/8♠9♦
2. Q♣/K♠/5♥5♣10♥(2♦2♣)/4♥, (A♥)/4♦6♥3♥/8♠9♦(9♥)/[?]
3. Q♣/K♠(4♣2♠)/5♥5♣10♥2♦2♣/5♠, A♥(K♥)/4♦6♥3♥(4♠)/8♠9♦9♥/[?]
4. Q♣(Q♥J♣)/K♠4♣2♠/5♥5♣10♥2♦2♣/7♠,
We aren’t exactly a favorite to make it, but with a low two pair on the bottom, we’re pretty good favorites to get scooped if we back off to a weaker hand.
Fantasyland is worth roughly +20 points. Not getting scooped is worth only +5 points. We’ve got three cards to catch a king or two aces. Let’s do it…
…and we miss.
The crux of this round was an early decision to play two pair on the bottom, rather than keeping the hand a bit more flexible by playing a small pair in the middle.
That decision proved costly, as we would have made an excellent hand the other way. We’d have ended up with fives-full on the bottom, trip deuces in the middle, and QxQx on top for Fantasyland.
In retrospect, our play might have been wrong. I under-estimated the possibility of making trips in the middle, and the fact that this helps us get to Fantasyland.
Going for Fantasyland was the right plan, but maybe relying exclusively on a second king wasn’t the right way to go.
Meanwhile, our opponent made a great hand, by doing what we didn’t do, and hanging in for a big bottom-hand bonus.
1. Q♣/K♠/5♥5♣10♥, /4♦6♥3♥/8♠9♦
2. Q♣/K♠/5♥5♣10♥(2♦2♣)/4♥, (A♥)/4♦6♥3♥/8♠9♦(9♥)/[?]
3. Q♣/K♠(4♣2♠)/5♥5♣10♥2♦2♣/5♠, A♥(K♥)/4♦6♥3♥(4♠)/8♠9♦9♥/[?]
4. Q♣(Q♥J♣)/K♠4♣2♠/5♥5♣10♥2♦2♣/7♠, A♥K♥(Q♠)/4♦6♥3♥4♠/8♠9♦9♥(8♦)/[?]
5. Q♣Q♥J♣/K♠4♣2♠(2♥10♦)/5♥5♣10♥2♦2♣/3♣ FOUL, A♥K♥Q♠/4♦6♥3♥4♠(6♣)/8♠9♦9♥8♦(9♠)/[?]
Round 641 (button) – Even Earlier
Nothing tricky about this one.
1. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠/8♦, /K♦9♦/6♠10♠3♠
Some might play the king up top, but with two aces gone, we’re much more likely to need that king in the middle, for something like QxQx or JxJx up top.
We’re also up against a player who’s committed to specific hand. He might get there right away, but until he does, we will have upside in surviving the threat, and getting an easy +6 points if he fouls.
But right away we’re in trouble.
1. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠/8♦, /K♦9♦/6♠10♠3♠
2. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠/8♦(6♥6♦)/[?], /K♦9♦/6♠10♠3♠/4♣4♥10♣
With a pair on the bottom, a live kicker, and nine more cards to come, the computer is 60% to hit an 8x or 6x, to say nothing of its odds of making a different two pair.
Operating under the assumption that our opponent will not foul, we stay in for the bottom flush and a middle two pair. Hopefully, it misses Fantasyland. Although I’d definitely make the computer a favorite to make it here.
1. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠/8♦, /K♦9♦/6♠10♠3♠
2. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠/8♦(6♥6♦)/[?], /K♦9♦(4♣4♥)/6♠10♠3♠/10♣
3. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠(5♠)/8♦6♥6♦(8♥)/[?], /K♦9♦4♣4♥/6♠10♠3♠/7♥K♠Q♠
This is, of course, an excellent draw. The computer paired up on the bottom, which was to be expected, but now we’ve taken two of its Fantasyland outs. And we could use those cards as well.
It's tempting to use the face cards somehow for Fantasyland, but how likely are chances at this point?
Throwing away one spade for a shot at Fantasyland makes sense, as there are still six spades left in the deck. We may be a favorite to get another spade, but we’re not a favorite to get two more spades. So let’s take the +4 point flush bonus, and maybe we’ll win the bottom hand as well.
1. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠/8♦, /K♦9♦/6♠10♠3♠
2. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠/8♦(6♥6♦)/[?], /K♦9♦(4♣4♥)/6♠10♠3♠/10♣
3. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠(5♠)/8♦6♥6♦(8♥)/[?], /K♦9♦4♣4♥/6♠10♠3♠(K♠Q♠)/7♥
The computer gets there.
1. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠/8♦, /K♦9♦/6♠10♠3♠
2. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠/8♦(6♥6♦)/[?], /K♦9♦(4♣4♥)/6♠10♠3♠/10♣
3. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠(5♠)/8♦6♥6♦(8♥)/[?], /K♦9♦4♣4♥/6♠10♠3♠(K♠Q♠)/7♥
4. Q♣K♣(K♥)/A♣A♠5♠(J♦)/8♦6♥6♦8♥/[?], /K♦9♦4♣4♥/6♠10♠3♠K♠Q♠/5♣3♥A♦
It’s almost a relief, as he started with an almost ideal hand, kept hitting, and wasn’t at any point a favorite not to get there.
As for our hand, all we can do is play it out.
We don’t improve.
1. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠/8♦, /K♦9♦/6♠10♠3♠
2. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠/8♦(6♥6♦)/[?], /K♦9♦(4♣4♥)/6♠10♠3♠/10♣
3. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠(5♠)/8♦6♥6♦(8♥)/[?], /K♦9♦4♣4♥/6♠10♠3♠(K♠Q♠)/7♥
4. Q♣K♣(K♥)/A♣A♠5♠(J♦)/8♦6♥6♦8♥/[?], (A♦5♣)/K♦9♦4♣4♥/6♠10♠3♠K♠Q♠/3♥
5. Q♣K♣K♥/A♣A♠5♠J♦(J♥)/8♦6♥6♦8♥(8♠)/[?], A♦5♣/K♦9♦4♣4♥/6♠10♠3♠K♠Q♠/9♣9♥7♠
Meanwhile, the computer finishes off a great hand, start to finish, by filling up on the bottom for a scoop.
1. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠/8♦, /K♦9♦/6♠10♠3♠
2. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠/8♦(6♥6♦)/[?], /K♦9♦(4♣4♥)/6♠10♠3♠/10♣
3. Q♣K♣/A♣A♠(5♠)/8♦6♥6♦(8♥)/[?], /K♦9♦4♣4♥/6♠10♠3♠(K♠Q♠)/7♥
4. Q♣K♣(K♥)/A♣A♠5♠(J♦)/8♦6♥6♦8♥/[?], (A♦5♣)/K♦9♦4♣4♥/6♠10♠3♠K♠Q♠/3♥
5. Q♣K♣K♥/A♣A♠5♠J♦(J♥)/8♦6♥6♦8♥(8♠)/[?], A♦5♣(9♥)/K♦9♦4♣4♥(9♣)/6♠10♠3♠K♠Q♠/7♠
Much like the previous hand, we could have made Fantasyland with different early decisions. As I mentioned two draws ago, we were a favorite to pull one more spade, and indeed we got the 7♠ last card. We could have made KxKx on the top, two pair in the middle, and a queen-high flush on the bottom.
Getting there would have meant playing the king-top to start, on the first round.
When to play king-top and when to play king-middle seems destined to be a source of debate in OFC strategy. King-up increases your chances of going to Fantasyland, although not in all cases, while playing king-middle makes it much easier to make big pairs up top like 10x10x, JxJx, and QxQx.
My general rule is to play king-top to start only when I have a well-connected middle hand. So the king goes up top with an ace in the middle, a small pair in the middle or something like 4♥2♥.
In this case, we had an option to play the 9♦ in the middle, and K♦ up top. I chose to play them both in the middle.
Round 642 (first to act, against Fantasyland) – To Go or Not to Go
Up against Fantasyland, there’s no reason not to go big right away.
1. A♠/3♦3♠/10♠9♥
Oh boy it’s is a tough one.
1. A♠/3♦3♠/10♠9♥, ???/?????/?????/[?]
2. A♠/3♦3♠/10♠9♥/J♦A♥8♥
We absolutely want to pair the ace on top and take our chances at Fantasyland, but would it be better to improve our bottom hand first? The nice thing about playing for the bottom straight is that we can confidently play trips in the middle, whereas with two pair on the bottom, we can’t always take that chance.
Throwing away the 8♥ (or the J♦) and pairing the ace immediately is an option, but we’ll need that eight or jack back in order to make a straight.
Let’s go for the open-ender; Fantasyland cards can wait.
Much like our previous two rounds, we went one way, and we immediately regret it. Is this Scrabble? Did we dump a bunch of vowels, only to get the same letters back?
Reviewing Pineapple games isn’t the best way to keep your sanity.
1. A♠/3♦3♠/10♠9♥, ???/?????/?????/[?]
2. A♠/3♦3♠/10♠9♥(J♦8♥)/A♥, ???/?????/?????
3. A♠/3♦3♠/10♠9♥J♦8♥/10♥J♣8♠
At least our straight gets there. With a round left to go, Fantasyland is still possible.
1. A♠/3♦3♠/10♠9♥, ???/?????/?????/[?]
2. A♠/3♦3♠/10♠9♥(J♦8♥)/A♥, ???/?????/?????
3. A♠/3♦3♠(10♥J♣)/10♠9♥J♦8♥/8♠, ???/?????/?????
4. A♠/3♦3♠10♥J♣/10♠9♥J♦8♥/6♦2♥7♦,
We don’t get make it. But we do improve the middle a little, and we don’t get scooped.
The computer didn’t have a strong Fantasyland hand, so we got to escape pretty cheap. On the other hand, we had practically no chance for Fantasyland after throwing away what turned out to be the case ace.
For the third hand in a row, we had the cards, and a reasonable sequence of plays, to go to Fantasyland. This is a small sample, but it goes to show, I suppose, why aggressive play is generally rewarded in OFC Pineapple, over the long run.
Check back on Thursday for even more great Pineapple OFC strategy as Yakovenko's match continues.
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